Exemplary embodiments relate to networks, and more specifically, to an architecture for scaling a network.
A telecommunications network is a collection of terminals, links, and nodes which connect together to enable telecommunication between users of the terminals. Networks may use circuit switching or message switching. Each terminal in the network has a unique address so messages or connections can be routed to the correct recipients. The collection of addresses in the network is called the address space. The links connect the nodes together and are themselves built upon an underlying transmission network which physically pushes the message across the link.
Telecommunication networks may be made up of five basic components that are present in each network environment. These basic components may include terminals, telecommunications processors, telecommunications channels, computers, and/or telecommunications control software. Terminals are the starting and stopping points in any telecommunication network environment. Any input or output device that is used to transmit or receive data can be classified as a terminal component. Telecommunications processors support data transmission and reception between terminals and computers by providing a variety of control and support functions, i.e. convert data from digital to analog and back. Telecommunications channels are the way by which data is transmitted and received. Telecommunication channels are created through a variety of media of which the most popular include copper wires and coaxial cables. Fiber-optic cables are increasingly used to bring faster and more robust connections to businesses and homes.
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) is a mechanism in high-performance telecommunications networks which directs and carries data from one network node to the next. MPLS makes it easy to create “virtual links” between distant nodes. It can encapsulate packets of various network protocols. MPLS is a highly scalable, protocol agnostic, data-carrying mechanism. In an MPLS network, data packets are assigned labels. Packet-forwarding decisions are made solely on the contents of this label, without the need to examine the packet itself. This allows one to create end-to-end circuits across any type of transport medium, using any protocol. The primary benefit is to eliminate dependence on a particular Data Link Layer technology, and eliminate the need for multiple Layer 2 networks to satisfy different types of traffic. MPLS belongs to the family of packet-switched networks. It was designed to provide a unified data-carrying service for both circuit-based clients and packet-switching clients which provide a datagram service model. It can be used to carry many different kinds of traffic, including Internet protocol (IP) packets, as well as native Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET), and Ethernet frames.